Cameroon - December 2024

On 6 December, Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, signed orders halting the work of four civil society organisations, citing ‘illicit financing’, threats to the ‘integrity of the national financial system’ and a ‘lack of authorisation’. Two organisations were suspended for three months, another was permanently banned and a fourth, the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Réseau des Défenseurs des Droits Humains en Afrique Centrale, REDHAC), was the subject of both a suspension and a permanent ban. Nji said the moves were part of an effort to strengthen the country’s fight against financial crime. However, several rights organisations alleged that the orders were illegal and further undermined civic space in the country. REDHAC is one of Cameroon’s most active CSOs and, like Reach Out Cameroon (one of the suspended organisations), it has a strong international reputation for defending human rights and publishing reports critical of the government.

Sources: Ministry of Territorial Administration (1), Ministry of Territorial Administration (2), Jeune Afrique, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International